A Second Chance at Being Mrs Huntzberger
by KRiSTiNEDAHLiNG
Summary: Rory Gilmore is getting a second chance at being Mrs. Logan Huntzberger, but is it the life she really wants?
1. If I Could Do It Again

-1**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I HAVE NO IDEA WHERE THIS CAME FROM. LIKE NONE. THIS ISN'T REALY LIKE MOST OF MY OTHER STORIES EXCEPT FOR THE FACT THAT IT IS DEFINITELY AU OR AR OR WHATEVER. I HOPE YOU LIKE IT. IT'S A BIT LIKE THAT MOVIE THE FAMILY MAN WITH NIC CAGE AND TEA LEONI. IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN IT YOU SHOULD YOUTUBE THE TRAILER. IT'S A TOTALLY AWESOME FILM. I HOPE YOU LIKE THIS. IT MAY BE A BIT CONFUSING BUT HOPEFULLY NOT TOO MUCH. **

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN GILMORE GIRLS BUT IF I HAD THINGS WOULD HAVE BEEN WAY, WAY DIFFERENT LIKE PARIS WOULD HAVE NEVER SCHTUPPED AN OLD MAN AND DITCHED JAMIE. HAHA. **

**RATING: PG**

**CHAPTER ONE: IF I COULD DO IT ALL OVER AGAIN, I WOULD HAVE SAID YES**

There were days when Lorelai Leigh Gilmore, better known to her friends and family as Rory would wonder what her life would have been like had she accepted Logan Huntzberger's proposal. It would be the little things that'd make her mind drift there. She'd see a mother tying her child's shoe and she'd think to herself that she wouldn't have minded doing that. She'd see a couple picking out furniture and she'd think that it must be nice to have someone to decide things like that with. She'd see a family picking out movies and she'd think how great it must be the first time you get to show your child Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. It was always the little things.

It wasn't like she didn't lead a full life. In fact she was busier and more successful than most people her age. At 26 years old she was the youngest correspondent at the major news network she worked for. She lived in a posh loft. She only wore the best couture had to offer. To put it mildly the average person would have killed to trade places with her. Rory Gilmore from all outward appearances had it all, but she knew the truth. She was lonely.

All of her nearest and dearest friends were getting married and settling down. It seemed as though every time she checked her mail box there would be a wedding invitation or a save the date card waiting for her. It hurt. She dated, but nothing ever stuck. The guys were too predictable or too unpredictable. They were either vain or looked as though they hadn't showered lately. It was all very frustrating. Then again it was hard to find someone new when you were still in love with your ex-boyfriend even though you were the dumbass who turned down his proposal.

In the weeks that followed what she'd come to refer to as the biggest blooper of her life she'd considered calling him a million times. She did want to be Mrs. Logan Huntzberger, she just didn't want to be the future Mrs. Logan Huntzberger when she was about to set off on the campaign trail. Of course she hadn't had the nerve. And then next thing you know a year had passed on the trail and she once again considered calling him, but by then she knew it would have been a selfish move on her part. She allowed him to move on. She got a job at a major news network and moved her way up in the ranks so quickly that she was sure some of her colleagues whispered about her behind her back. But still the loneliness was there. She wanted to move on, but how?

She sighed when she heard her cell phone start to ring. She fished in her overly large, but incredibly expensive handbag she'd been given as a gift from somebody who she regrettably couldn't remember. She smiled when she saw who was calling. "Hey."

- - -

Rory walked into the small bistro that served what could only be described as heavenly coffee and smiled when she saw Stephanie was not only on time, but had already ordered her a coffee. She grinned when she reached the beautiful blonde and gave her a short hug before sitting down in the booth across from her. "It's so good to see you. I'm so glad you called" It had been months since the last time they'd gotten together.

"I know it's been too long. Your growing your hair out again." Stephanie noted. "I'm glad."

"I knew you would be." Stephanie had been begging Rory to grow her hair out since the moment she found out that she cut it. "So how've you been Steph?"

"I've been great. Business has been good despite this economy. We're opening up a store in Palm Beach." Upon completion of college Stephanie did what she always wanted to do. She went into fashion. Lucky for her she had the Vanderbilt name to fall back on as well as many connections. It was almost a fool proof recipe for success.

"And that's how many stores now?" Stephanie's success never ceased to amaze Rory. It was one thing to own a single successful store. It was another thing to turn yourself into a brand name.

"8 including the one that's opening in Dallas next month."

"And yet you still made time to do lunch with little old me? I'm touched."

Stephanie rolled her eyes. "Look whose talking. You were literally just in Africa last week. Impressive segment by the way, very powerful." She made a point to TiVo all of Rory's segments. Her TiVo probably would have thought she were brilliant if she didn't also record the Rachel Zoe project, Flipping Out, and Private Practice.

Rory waved her hand dismissively. In the beginning the travel had impressed her. Now it was just another part of the job. The first few times she went to Africa she could remember being overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of where she was. Now it was almost as routine for her as being in Stars Hollow had been. "And how are they?" she asked in reference to her two favorite opposites. While her and Stephanie kept in touch even after Rory turned Logan down the others had remained fiercely loyal to Logan and had ceased talking to her. Finn did occasionally secretly send her funny postcards from his travels and Colin would send her stock tips but that was the extinct of it.

"Finn is dating someone, who isn't a redhead or even a model. In fact she's book publisher named Victoria who pushes all of his buttons. He quietly asked me the other day if I thought you'd like her."

"And?"

"You would. She's good for him. He's even taken to waiting until noon before drinking." Stephanie could remember being shocked the first time he showed up for brunch not only on time but also completely sober. It didn't take long for that to change, but still baby steps.

Rory took a sip of her coffee and let that sink in. She hadn't realized just how attached she had become to Stephanie, Colin, and Finn when she was dating Logan. She hadn't understood just how much their friendship meant to her. Until of course she realized that it no longer was fair of her to call them because she'd basically stepped on their best friends heart. She could still remember being shocked when Stephanie called and told her that she had read one of her stories from the Obama campaign. Her surprise had turned to relief when she realized she still had one of them to rely on. "And Colin?"

"He was briefly considering buying a bigger couch for his office because the one he has right now isn't very comfortable when he spends the night at work. I talked him out of it. And he's asked me to marry him."

"What?" Rory hadn't even known that Colin and Stephanie were dating again. Last time they did this Stephanie had been having a fling with a French model named Henri. "How did this happen?"

"I'm honestly not sure." Stephanie admitted quietly.

"I thought you two weren't dating."

"We aren't. We haven't been. To be honest I was just as shocked as you are right now." Stephanie's eyes had almost bulged out of her head when he pulled the box out of his breast pocket. "He called me last week and told me that he was in town and wanted to get together. I agreed because to be honest I missed him. I was deciding whether or not I wanted tiramisu and suddenly he pulled out a ring box and proposed."

"And you said?"

"Well and I'm not proud of this, but first I laughed because I thought he was kidding. I mean we weren't even dating. Who proposes to someone they aren't even dating?" Stephanie still couldn't wrap her head around that one. "And then I told him that I had to think about it. I figured I'd come see you so you could help me think."

"Me?" Rory asked in surprise.

Stephanie rolled her eyes. "Whether you realize this or not you're probably my dearest friend Rory. My career doesn't leave me much time to be a good friend, but when I do have time I usually squeeze you in. Plus well-"

Rory knew what Stephanie was alluding to but not saying. "I turned down a proposal myself."

"Exactly. I'm sorry. I just well-" Stephanie paused not sure what she was trying to say. "How did you decide?"

"It was different for me Steph. I was 22 and had just graduated college. I wasn't ready to be married. I guess what it has made me realize though is are you willing to lose Colin? If you tell him no you'll lose him. Think about that."

Stephanie reached out and squeezed Rory's hand. She could still remember how crushed Logan sounded when he told her the bad news. At the time she had been dismayed. She hadn't been able to understand how Rory could have been so dumb. Even after they rekindled their friendship she wondered how in the world she could have said no. But now sitting here in this small bistro did she really understand Rory's predicament. She wanted to keep him, but she also wanted to be her own person for a little longer. She wasn't ready to be Mrs. Anything. She was struggling just to be Rory. "He misses you. He'd kill me if he knew I told you that, but he does."

Rory wasn't sure if she wanted to laugh or cry. She let out a bitter laugh that she felt like covered both emotions. "If I could do it all again I would say yes."

"I know." Stephanie whispered. She groaned when she heard her phone start to ring. "That's my accountant. I've got to go. I'm probably late."

Rory nodded and hugged her old friend. "It was good seeing you."

"Thank you for the advice Rory. I'm sorry that I brought all of that old stuff up."

"It's no big deal." Rory lied.

"Liar, liar pants on fire." Stephanie countered. "Call him. You might be surprised."

- - -

Rory couldn't sleep. All she could think about was what Stephanie had said. _He misses you. _Could it be possible that he still carried a torch for her? It had been the first time she ever admitted that she would have said yes if she could do it again. Normally she pretended that her decision was what was best for her, but honestly it wasn't. She just didn't like for people to know she regretted it. It definitely wasn't worth all the pain and suffering it had caused everyone. If only she could do it again. If only she had said yes. She closed her eyes and finally she drifted off to sleep.

- - -

Rory Gilmore woke up the next morning in an unfamiliar bed. It was a California king with a sea foam green colored comforter. She rolled over to look at the alarm clock and almost fell out of bed when she found a familiar man with messy blonde hair lying next to her. She lifted the bedspread up to see if there was the familiar scar from his miscue in Costa Rica and gasped softly when she saw it. She pinched herself thinking this had to be some sort of dream. She sat up quietly so as not to disturb him. She looked around the room and found that it was filled with pictures of the two of them together. Her eyes fell onto the nightstand and that's when she saw what had to have been a wedding photo. She looked down at her left hand and saw the engagement ring he'd painstakingly picked out for her as well as tasteful wedding band. Rory Gilmore was in an alternate universe where she was obviously Rory Huntzberger. Things were about to get very interesting.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: AH! HAHA. THAT WAS CRAZY. I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA WHERE THAT CAME FROM. LIKE NONE. I HOPE YOU LIKED IT OKAY. I'M NOT SURE HOW QUICKLY I'LL UPDATE THIS TO BE HONEST. I'M NOT EVEN SURE WHERE IT IS GOING TO GO. IF YA'LL HAVE ANY IDEAS I'D LOVE FOR YOU TO SHARE THEM WITH ME. SHE'S GETTING A CHANCE TO LIVE THE LIFE SHE THINKS SHE WANTS. THE QUESTION IS IT WHAT SHE REALLY WANTS? THAT KIND OF THING. LIKE I SAID I HOPE YOU GUYS LIKED IT. PLEASE LET ME KNOW. - KRISTINE. **


	2. She Knew One Thing For Sure

-1**AUTHOR'S NOTE: THANK YOU FOR THE POSITIVE RESPONSE TO THE FIRST CHAPTER. I LIKE THE PREMISE OF THIS STORY I JUST DON'T KNOW IF THE PREMISE LIKES ME. HAHA. THANK YOU FOR TUNING BACK IN. I HOPE THAT THIS DOESN'T COMPETELY SUCK. - KRISTINE. **

**RATING: PG**

**DISCLAIMER: AS IF I ACTUALLY OWN GILMORE GIRLS. HAHA. **

**CHAPTER TWO: SHE KNEW FOR SURE THAT THEY WERE HAPPY**

- - -

Rory wasn't sure what to do. Things like this only happened in movies. You weren't supposed to go to bed in one world and wake up in another. She wasn't Nicolas Cage. Logan wasn't Tea Leoni. Her life was not the Family Man. Even then wasn't she supposed to have a guide? Where was Don Cheadle? She pinched herself once more hoping that this time it would wake her up and prove that this was all just some sort of crazy dream. She almost whimpered when it didn't work. She glanced at Logan once more and knew that he was going to wake up any second. She had to figure out as much information about this version of her life as possible before she faced him. She slipped out of her bed and grabbed her robe before quietly venturing into the rest of the house.

The moment Rory stepped out of their bedroom she was struck by how large their home was. The sheer number of doors and length of the hallway was impressive to say the least. And yet unlike most of the large homes she'd been in during her life, their home didn't seem cold or pretentious. It was tastefully decorated in a way that made it seem comfortable as well as lived in. She stopped dead in her tracks when she walked into the living room and found a large Christmas tree in the corner of the room. She crossed the room so that she could further inspect it. It was beautiful in an imperfect way. It was obviously not the work of a professional. Rory could help but feel satisfied that they had more than likely done this themselves. It had to say something about them as a couple. Didn't it?

"It turned out gorgeous. Don't you think?"

Rory spun around and found a petite Hispanic woman standing in the doorway to the living room eating yogurt. She was wearing what looked a lot like a Juicy Couture jumpsuit. Rory could only assume that she must be their housekeeper because she seemed a bit too old to be a friend. She smiled and nodded. "It really did."

"You're up early for a Saturday. You know if Logan comes downstairs and finds you in here he's going to think that you are trying to guess what your Christmas presents are." Sofie pointed out.

Rory couldn't contain her grin knowing that she was right. "Well you'll just have to vouch for me now, won't you?"

"I guess that could be arranged." Sofie joked. "Have you seen how beautiful it is outside?"

Rory looked out of the large windows and realized that it was beautiful outside. It was a bright and beautiful sunny day. It looked like the weather was perfect. Was this what winter in California was like? It was far too pretty out to be morning up north. Yesterday in New York it had been freezing and everything had been blanketed with snow.

"Christmas in Boca," Sofie beamed. "You've got to love it."

Boca? As in Boca Raton? As in Boca Raton, Florida? Rory wondered how in the world they had ended up in Boca Raton. What had made them leave Palo Alto? Had something happened with Logan's company? Things must still have been doing okay or they wouldn't have been able to afford such an extravagant home. "It's definitely something," Rory agreed. Once upon a time Rory had cherished the magic that was a first snow, but the older she got the less magical it seemed. All it did was slow things down.

Sofie smiled when she heard the familiar shuffle of Logan coming down the stairs. She often felt like these two were her children the way she recognized the sounds they made. She turned around and felt her smile grow wider when she saw him walk down the stairs wearing a faded Yale t-shirt and a pair of boxer-briefs. "Buenos dias Logan."

"Buenos dias Sofie," Logan greeted his housekeeper warmly. He placed a gentle kiss on her cheek. "Did you catch her snooping?"

Rory gasped softly. He looked almost the exact same as he had the last time she saw him four years ago. His hair was a bit longer and he was sporting a bit of stubble, but other than that there was little difference between this Logan and the one whose proposal she had turned down.

"She wasn't snooping," Sofie assured him. "I'm going to go brew some coffee."

Logan waited until Sofie had gone to the kitchen before crossing the room. He wrapped his arms around Rory's small waist. "You look like you've seen a ghost Ace."

"Maybe I was just captivated by your handsomeness," Rory admitted softly.

"Yeah?"

"Maybe just a little," Rory kissed him softly on his collarbone. She reached out and grabbed his shirt. She remembered it from their college days. In fact she'd worn it many times. It was soft in the way only a well worn t-shirt could be.

Logan moaned softly. "Are you sure you didn't peek because you're feeling awfully affectionate?"

Rory smiled into his shoulder. How had she forgotten how funny he was? Or how he was the perfect height for her? How had she forgotten all of this?

"Do ya'll want crepes?" Sofie hollered from the kitchen.

Rory decided right then and there that Rory Huntzberger was one lucky woman. She momentarily allowed herself to stop thinking about the fact that she knew so little about this life and instead focused on the fact that Sofie was making crepes and she was standing in Logan's warm embrace.

"Sofie do I even need to answer that question?" Logan jokingly replied. He placed a softly kissed Rory's forehead before pulling her to the kitchen.

"When do your friends arrive?" Sofie asked the couple as she worked on toppings for the crepes.

Rory fought the urge to allow her brows to furrow in confusion. What friends could she be referring to? Could it be Finn, Stephanie, and Colin? Was she talking about new friends that they'd made in their time together since graduating?

"Finn said that they'd be here around four which means probably six," Logan shrugged.

Rory was glad to hear that Finn still struggled with punctuality. She guessed some things never changed. She also noted that he'd said they which suggested people other than just Finn. She assumed that it was Stephanie and Colin joining him because who else would he come here with.

"Well I made sure to stock up on Wild Turkey because I know how much he likes it." Sofie chuckled at the thought of the clerk at the liquor stores face when she asked if they had more than six bottles they had on the shelf.

- - -

A few hours later Logan disappeared into his office to take a conference call and Sofie went to the grocery store. Rory finally had a few moments to herself to write down all of the answers she had as well as the ones she didn't.

So far she knew that they lived in Boca Raton, Florida with their Cuban housekeeper Sofie. She'd been able to figure out Sofie's accent after during breakfast. She'd learned to differentiate between Spanish accents during her time reporting in Central America. She also knew that Finn was arriving with other people. As well as that he still loved Wild Turkey and was perpetually tardy. She knew that Logan and herself were doing well for themselves though she wasn't sure how exactly they paid the bills. She'd also deduced that they were a different kind of upper class couple. They were the kind that decorated their own tree. Finally she knew for sure that they were happy. It was obvious in the way that Logan looked at her as if they were still in the honeymoon stage.

She didn't know what Logan did for a job or what exactly she did. She was sure that she was a reporter though she didn't know who she wrote for. She didn't know how they ended up in Boca Raton. She didn't know who else Finn was bringing. She didn't know well basically she didn't know anything.

She sighed as she hid the list in the top drawer of her desk. There had to be somebody who'd be able to fill in the blanks for her. She wished desperately once again that she had some sort of Don Cheadle type character who could guide her through the madness that she was currently experiencing. She moved her mouse and double clicked on the calendar on her computer. Hopefully she'd find some answers in there while she figured out what her next plan of action was.

She knew for certain that sooner or later Logan and Sofie would start to suspect was something was off with her.

- - -

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: HOW WAS THAT? HAHA. THAT'S ALL I CAN SAY. THIS ISN'T AN EASY STORY TO WRITE. IT DOESN'T EXACTLY JUST FLOW. I HOPE THAT THIS WAS OKAY. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR TUNING BACK IN. PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK. - KRISTINE. **


	3. Dr Weisberg, Trish, & Blonde Bombshells

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'LL WARN YOU NOW THIS ISN'T A CHAPTER THAT CAME EASY OR THAT I WOULD GO ON RECORD AS SAYING THAT I LOVE IT. STILL YOU DO FIND SOME PRETTY IMPORTANT INFORMATION IN IT. I HONESTLY HAVE NO IDEA WHERE THIS STORY IS GOING WHICH MAKES WRITING IT SUPER HARD. STILL YOUR KIND WORDS PUSHES ME TO UPDATE BECAUSE I DON'T WANT THIS TO FALL TO THE WAYSIDE EVEN THOUGH IT WOULD TOTALLY BE EASY TO QUIT ON IT. HAHA. ANYWAY I HOPE YOU LIKE IT. **

**RATING: PG**

**DISCLAIMER: HAHA. **

**CHAPTER THREE: DR. WEISBERG, TRISH & BLONDE BOMBSHELLS**

It didn't take long for Rory to deduce that she was just as busy in this life as she was in what she had started to silently refer to as her other life. It seemed Rory Huntzberger had at least three meetings a day everyday next week except for Monday. On Monday she only had a single meeting with a woman named Camille and then an appointment at 12:30 with a Dr. Weisberg. Was he her gynecologist? Could he be her shrink. She thought that a was pretty plausible answer until she took a moment to really think about it. While in her other life Rory was positive she could benefit from paying someone to listen to her rattle off about her stresses in life she didn't think Rory Huntzberger had a similar need. She sighed and decided that she would continue to stress about Dr. Weisberg later. She chewed her lip and stared at the screen for a couple more minutes. She wished that she could find something, anything that would make at least a couple of these questions go away. Like what the hell she did for a living.

She was in the middle of throwing herself a mini pity party when suddenly a box popped up in the lower part of her screen telling her that she had an email. She clicked on it and found herself filled with renewed hope.

_To: Rory Huntzberger_

_From: Patricia Ingram_

_Subject: JUST CHECKING IN…_

_Rory,_

_Congratulations on increasing your circulation numbers. I understand that Frank has been vocal about potentially stepping down as soon as June of next year so that you can take over his position as Editor-In-Chief. While I understand you've grown quite partial to always beautiful Boca Raton and that dinky paper you've done an impressive job reviving I do hope you are still mulling over the opportunity to join our staff here at the Post. All of your talent is being wasted down there in South Florida. You could be writing and editing real new stories. A smart girl like you must have dreamed of winning a Pulitzer which will never happen unless you leave South Florida and Frank behind. Anyway I hope this email finds you in good spirits and enjoying your holidays. Send my regards to Logan. _

_- Trish_

Rory didn't curse much. It wasn't in her nature. Still even she had to swear after she was finished reading the email. Instead of helping to answer a question it had simply created more. Which Post? The New York Post? The Washington Post? Some dinky Post no one had even heard of? And who in the world was Patricia Ingram? At least this time she was pretty sure a quick Google search would be able to provide her with at least one answer. She typed PATRICIA INGRAM and POST into the search bar. Her eyes almost popped out of her head when her results showed that Patricia Ingram was the current Editor-In-Chief at the Washington Post.

Rory Huntzberger was being scouted by the Washington Post. The Editor-In-Chief of one of the most read and well respected newspapers in the country was emailing her trying to persuade her to come work for them. And apparently it seemed like she wasn't all that interested in the deal even though from what Patricia had said the paper she was working for right now was definitely not of the same caliber.

Rory sat there for a moment trying to comprehend it all. All of her life she had had this dream that she was going to write stories that changed lives. She wanted to write stories that really mattered to people. And yet maybe in this world her priorities had changed. Maybe her idea of stories that mattered were different. Then again maybe she was just ignoring the job offer because Logan needed them to be based in Boca Raton. That was a very real possibility. She sat there for a few more seconds and then finally thought that maybe she should take a chance and Google herself. It probably couldn't hurt to at least try.

83,600 results. That's how many things popped up in Google when she typed in her name. Apparently Rory Huntzberger was a popular woman. The results that popped up ranged from stories about various events that her and Logan had attended to a Yale alumni website. Still it was the second link that she knew would hold all of the answers. She double-clicked on it and knew that she was about to find at least a small bit of information out.

_Rory Huntzberger joins the St. Petersburg Times as Assistant Editor-In-Chief after an impressive stint at the San Francisco Chronicle where she was a Features editor as well as a respected political analyst. Rory is a graduate of Yale University where she edited the Yale Daily News. A self-proclaimed news enthusiast Rory is excited to start working and has already fallen in love with South Florida. She is the wife of Logan Huntzberger who has made a name for himself with his impressive media sharing venture. _

Rory wanted to celebrate this moment. She wanted to dance on her desk and celebrate the fact that she had finally gotten a much needed breakthrough. She was an Assistant Editor-In-Chief at the St. Petersburg Times which as Patricia had said wasn't the most impressive version of the Times, but still was something to be proud of. She was so in the moment of her small victory that she didn't even notice that Logan was standing in the doorway watching her celebrate.

"Excited about something Ace?" he smirked.

Rory whirled around in her chair and realized that Logan had been watching her the whole time. Luckily she had always been just slightly neurotic so it wasn't nearly as weird as it could be. She was after all the type of woman who would get excited about the most trivial things like good highlighters. "I found the perfect present for Sofie," she explained with a grin.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yep," Rory agreed. She closed her email before standing up to wrap her arms around him. She did it just because she could. Because it gave her a chance to revel in his familiar cologne. She also did it because she hoped that it would maybe distract him just a little.

"Well it'll have to be pretty good because I know for fact she's going to love what I got her."

Rory grinned into his chest. She should have know that they would compete for best gift. She made a note to find out of if she had in fact already gotten Sofie a gift or not. "Don't worry. It is."

Rory Huntzberger was a fan of bright colors. Nearly everything in the closet was bright. Sure there were a few muted neutrals, but she was pretty sure even those were meant to be partnered with something bright. In the other world Rory's closet was filled with nothing but darker tones like navy and charcoal gray. She couldn't remember the last thing she'd even thought about buying that was even remotely considered bright. In fact now that she really thought about it the only bright colored object she knew for sure she had was the pink Birkin bag Logan had bought her. There might have also been a cherry red pair of Jimmy Choo's that Stephanie had bought her for Christmas a couple of years ago.

The dilemma that Rory was facing that she had never considered before was that she had no idea what Rory Huntzberger would wear for an occasion like this. She didn't want to walk downstairs in an outfit that would make everyone look at her like she had suddenly grown a second head. She was pretty sure if she dressed how she normally dressed Logan would ask if she was dressing for a funeral. She sighed when she heard their bedroom door open. She knew it was going to be Logan saying that they needed to head to the airport any second.

"Listen Ace not that I don't love the sight of you in a towel, but we needed to leave for the airport five minutes ago," he replied as he placed a sot kiss on her shoulder blade. "Or we could you know just send a car service to pick them up. That's always a possibility." He suggested after getting a whiff of her shampoo which could drive him wild in a way that he thought wasn't possible.

Rory shuddered at the huskiness of his voice. She forgot how sexy he could be without really having to try. Thinking back it was his ability to be sexy so easily that made her fall so hard for him. Jess had always had to be so mysterious. Dean had always had to be so open. Logan had been an always appealing combination of the two. She turned around and saw that he was wearing a pair of jeans and a polo. She liked this look on him. She couldn't remember him wearing jeans before.

"You checking me out Ace?"

"Maybe," Rory admitted with a sheepish grin.

"You've been doing that a lot today. You'd think you hadn't seen me in a while," Logan smirked. "You remember when you were on the campaign trail and I used to meet you at random stops?'"

Rory wished she had those memories. She could tell by the look on his face that they were good ones. She could only imagine the set up. He probably told her a hotel and a room number and they would spend almost the entire time eating room service and enjoying each other's company.

She was surprised to find out that she had gone on the campaign trail. Hadn't that been part of her fear when he proposed? Hadn't she worried he wouldn't be able to handle that she wanted a job before she settled down and became Mrs. Huntzberger? It seemed she had underestimated him and his willingness to do whatever it took to be with her.

Logan glanced at his watch and cursed softly. "Now we are really late. I'm going downstairs before you in that towel can get me even more worked up."

She sighed and grabbed a pair of jeans and a shirt that was neither dressy nor too casual, but was mostly just run of the mill. She had a feeling this was the kind of outfit that Rory Huntzberger would wear. She had a feeling that in this life she wasn't constantly trying to impress people, but rather was just herself.

Maybe that was why she wasn't desperate to go work for the Washington Post? Maybe she wasn't ready to become the woman it would take to be a reporter for the Post. Maybe she wasn't ready or willing to be the woman that Rory was in her other life.

Rory watched them disembark from what she remembered to be one of Finn's families' many private jets. Finn looked the exact same as he always had. His hair was a mess as if he had just gotten finished ravishing a woman. He wore clothes that looked just a hair too big and a lazy grin. He was just Finn. Apparently her marrying Logan hadn't changed him in the least. She was surprised when she saw Colin because he was wearing jeans and a t-shirt. Despite knowing Colin for a great deal of time she couldn't remember a single time where he had ever looked so casual. Normally Colin looked like he was always prepared for a job interview or a quick debate meet. While it was different than what she was used to she couldn't help but think that it was different in a good way. She continued to watch to see if Stephanie was going to get off. She couldn't help but wonder if her decision had somehow impacted her good friend. She sighed and decided that it must not have. She waved and grinned like a fool at Finn and Colin.

"Love," Finn crooned the moment he reached the couple. He wrapped her up in a big hug before releasing her and openly looking her up and down. "You somehow get more dazzling with each visit."

Rory couldn't help but chuckle and roll her eyes at Finn's charm. She'd forgotten how special Finn could make a girl feel. He was one of those people who would say she was dazzling even if she was wearing sweats and looked like she hadn't gotten off the couch in a week. And even when you knew there was no way in hell it could be true he could somehow convince you otherwise. "You aren't looking so terrible yourself."

"Logan you better watch your back or one day she's going to finally agree to runaway with me. I don't know if you know this but I'm exotic." Finn joked as he quickly hugged his old friend.

"So is the bird flu," Colin joked just like he always did when Finn claimed to be exotic. "Rory," he replied softly as he gave her a quick hug and a kiss before slapping Logan on the back.

"Where are the blonde bombshells?" Logan asked.

Rory was happy that no one had been looking at her or they would have noticed that her posture changed at the question. _Blonde bombshells? _One of them would have to be Stephanie right? Unless of course she had changed Stephanie's life in a way that made her feel just slightly sick to her stomach. Could her marriage to Logan have made Colin give up on Stephanie and find someone else? And had Finn actually found a woman that he wanted to wake up to on more than one occasion? A blonde no less? If there was one thing that Rory thought she knew for sure about Finn it was that he was going to be tamed one day by a redhead.

"They're coming," Colin assured them. "Hailey spilled some grape juice on her dress."

"Grape juice?" Rory couldn't help but ask.

"Don't get him started love," Finn joked. "He predicted this would happen before the plan took off."

Rory fought the urge to ask another question like who the hell dates a woman who you know is going to spill grape juice on herself? She was instantly relieved that she managed to keep her mouth shut this time because moments after the thought crossed her mind the blonde bombshells emerged from the plane.

To Rory's relief Stephanie did turn out to be one of the blonde bombshells. Much to her surprise though she was actually carrying the other blonde bombshell. The reason it had been completely acceptable for Hailey to have spilt grape juice on herself is because Hailey was a beautiful little girl that even from a distance looked exactly like the spitting image of her mother.

It seemed her decision had changed Stephanie's life. Rory agreeing to become Mrs. Logan Huntzberger had somehow resulted in Colin and Stephanie becoming the proud parents of a four year old little girl. And here she thought Colin wearing jeans was a big deal.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: SO? HAHA. HOW WAS THAT? WHO CAN GUESS WHO OR RATHER WHAT KIND OF DOCTOR THIS DR. WEISBERG IS? I HOPE YOU LIKED THIS UPDATE. I WORKED SUPER HARD ON IT. I KNOW IT'S KIND OF SHORT. I'M NOT EXACTLY ROCKING THE LONG CHAPTERS LIKE I DID WITH SOME OF MY OTHER STORIES LIKE 'HELPING GIGI'. I'D REALLY APPRECIATE SOME FEEDBACK. ANY OTHER CHANGES YOU'D LIKE TO SEE? OH AND I'M TOYING WITH THE IDEA OF HER HAVING A DON CHEADLE TYPE OF GUIDE. WHO WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE BE THE GUIDE BECAUSE RIGHT NOW I'VE GOT NOBODY IN MIND. OR YOU COULD VOTE FOR HER NOT HAVING A GUIDE. IT'S ALL UP TO YOU. THANKS FOR TUNING BACK IN. - KRISTINE. **


	4. Avocadoes

-1**AUTHOR'S NOTE: COULD IT BE? ANOTHER CHAPTER. HAHA. YEP. I HOPE YOU GUYS LIKE THIS ONE. ANOTHER QUESTION MIGHT BE ANSWERED. YOU GUYS ARE SO AWESOME FOR BEING SO ENCOURAGING IN REGARDS TO THIS STORY. **

**RATING: PG**

**DISCLAIMER: HAHA. YEAH RIGHT. **

**CHAPTER FOUR: AVOCADOES**

- X - X - X - X -

Rory sat there trying to come up with a single time that Stephanie had even vaguely expressed a desire or an interest in motherhood. When that failed she tried to come up with a single time that Stephanie even mentioned children at all. It seemed the closest Rory could get was when Stephanie once commented that children must be fun to dress. That was it. That was as close as she could get. Even in the other world Stephanie never said anything about kids despite the fact that they were 26 and at that age when it seemed like many of their friends were starting to procreate. If it wasn't a wedding invite it was an invitation to a baby shower. Could Rory marrying Logan have changed her opinion that much?

Rory watched as Stephanie fussed with Hailey and couldn't help but think that her best friend seemed to be a natural at this whole motherhood thing. It also seemed to have calmed her good friend in a way that she wouldn't have guessed. She didn't seem nearly as stressed as she usually did. Then again Rory was almost certain that in this world Stephanie didn't own a successful chain of boutiques and wasn't constantly waiting on a phone call from someone. Being Hailey's mom and Colin's wife was more than likely her main priority.

"There's something different about you," Stephanie stated as she examined her best friend. "I can't quite put my finger on it, but there is definitely something different about you."

Rory tried to put on a face that said you're crazy, but knew that there was a fairly good chance her face looked more like please don't figure me out. It was what people would do if they realized that she couldn't remember a single thing that freaked her out the most? It wasn't like she could attempt to explain to them that she was from another world and was on a journey to see what her life would have been like if she had taken a different path. It wasn't like she could say have you ever seen the movie Family Man? Yeah, well that's what I'm going through. It wasn't like she could do more than pretend to be just as confused by her memory loss as everyone else was. Would they take her to specialists to get her head examined? She wasn't sure. And she definitely didn't want to find out. "Well you look like your usual amazing self." Rory said a silent prayer that Stephanie hadn't made some huge change that Logan hadn't commented on.

"You're full of shit. There were several adjectives that would have described my appearance the last few times you've seen me and none of them have been amazing. Dreadful and haggard are more like it. Still I'm finally getting back in the groove of things. I've been practicing this new form of meditation that has really seemed to make a difference. I finally don't mind the look of my own reflection in the mirror."

Rory wasn't exactly sure how to respond to that admission. There were so many questions that were on the tip of her tongue. Still she was pretty sure she was supposed to already know most of the answers so it would be a little weird if she asked them. Instead she went with, "Sounds like something I should look into."

"I'm telling you it has done wonders for my mental state." Stephanie assured her.

Rory smiled not sure what to say to that. She decided that maybe she should just allow them to relish the silence.

"I always have such a hard time believing you live here," Stephanie replied after a few minutes.

"Yeah?" Rory said in a way that she hoped would make Stephanie explain what she meant.

"You and Logan loved Palo Alto and his company was doing so well. I can remember you were so worried about asking him to make this move for you. But I knew he would do it. I knew that the second you told Logan about this opportunity he would say-"

"You jump, I jump Jack." Rory replied wistfully. If she was being honest the first time she ever considered that she could maybe one day be head over heels in love with Logan Huntzberger was that moment when he first told her those words. Even now she held them close to her heart.

"Exactly," Stephanie agreed with a bright smile. "And still I couldn't imagine you guys being happy in Boca Raton because before you guys moved here when I thought Boca I thought old women in bathing suits showing way too much skin and hopping from bingo game to bingo game. But of course you guys surprised me and flourished here. Moving to Boca has seemed to mellow you guys out which in turn has helped to mellow Colin out."

"Trish from the Washington Post emailed me," Rory blurted out a minute after Stephanie's explanation. She was almost certain that this is the type of information that Stephanie already knew. It sounded like Steph was the first person Rory called when she found out about the St. Petersburg Times offer so wouldn't it make sense that she would turn to her again in a moment like this?

"Again?"

Rory nodded.

"I wish she would understand that no means no. I mean she's more annoyingly persistent than a drunk frat boy who's trying to pretend that the tray of jello shots he downed has made it so that he either doesn't speak English or can't hear."

Rory had been expecting Stephanie to say many things, but not that. Rory Huntzberger wasn't considering Trish's offer. She wasn't mulling it over to see if it was what she really wanted. No she'd already turned it down. Trish's email was her way of saying that I'm not going to give up on you just yet. It wasn't just her checking in to make sure Rory was still thinking about it.

"I mean you still aren't interested in the job are you?"

"It was my dream you know," Rory said softly. "It was my dream to write for a big paper and to write the kinds of stories that made people feel something." She knew that Stephanie would misinterpret this as Rory having second thoughts about turning it down. She knew that Stephanie wouldn't see it for what it really was. In reality it was Rory saying that she didn't understand how she could have turned down an awesome opportunity like this. She didn't understand how the St. Petersburg Times could be more appealing to Rory Huntzberger than the Washington friggin' Post. Thank God English was the kind of language where you could say one thing, but mean a million.

Stephanie reached across the table and squeezed Rory's hand. "Dreams change Rory. I never thought I would love being a Mom like I do. I didn't even think I would be married at 26. God I don't know if I ever planned on being married especially to Colin McRae. I thought I would own my own store and date hunky models from all over the world. I would drink lots of champagne and relish the magic that is an one night stand with someone totally delicious. This being Mrs. McRae and Hailey's mom was never in my plan, but it certainly is more fulfilling than the life I'd always imagined for myself. And nothing can make me feel as good as seeing Colin and Hailey play dominoes."

"Hailey's the spitting image of you," Rory smiled. She knew deep down in her gut that Stephanie was right. Rory Huntzberger seemed to have a lot more things figured out than she did. Rory Gilmore only thought about getting ahead and being successful, but where had that gotten her? Rory Huntzberger might not have been a household name, but it seemed she was pretty okay with that. If Rory really loved her career as much as she thought she did then she wouldn't be here right now. She wouldn't be second guessing her decision.

"You should hear her talk about money though. I'm telling you that girl is a penny pincher like her father." Stephanie joked.

"Rory I need a favor," Sofie replied as she walked into the dining room. "I forgot to pick up avocadoes when I went to the market. I'd ask Logan, but he's gone to the club to show Colin and Finn his boat. You know boys and their toys."

"Yeah I can do that," Rory smiled and stood from the table. She'd luckily spotted a market that was literally five minutes down the road and a straight shot from the house. There was almost no chance she could get lost.

- X - X - X - X -

Rory sat there for a second trying to decide which avocadoes she should pick. The one thing she hadn't considered before making this trip is that she knew nothing about picking vegetables. In her other life she always ate out or ordered in. She didn't even own a pot or pan. She didn't see the point in them. Instead in her kitchen she stored all of her extra books. She was pretty sure there was a way to tell a ripe avocado from one that needed a little bit longer before it would taste good. She sighed and looked around for someone who could help her. She smiled when she finally saw a man stocking a shelf with a fancy looking brand of rice. "Excuse me, sir." She said as she tapped him lightly on the shoulder. She nearly fainted when the person turned around and she found herself face to face with Michel. "Michel…"

"Rory," he greeted warmly or at least warmly for Michel. "I was wondering when you were going to find me."

"Find you?" Rory gave him a blank look.

"Rory I thought you were a smart girl," Michel replied with an exasperated sigh.

"You're my Don Cheadle," she finally declared once the tired look he was giving her registered.

Michel crinkled his nose in disdain. "Don Cheadle has nothing on me. I mean look at this figure. I haven't had a carbohydrate in three years. Still if that is your way of saying that I'm your guide then you are correct."

"Where have you been?"

"Waiting for you to find me and well I've been doing a little bit of shopping. You should see the amazing jacket I picked up this morning."

Rory couldn't believe this. Michel? Michel was her guide? She couldn't even remember the last time she had seen Michel. And yet here he was standing in front of her prattling on about a jacket as if her life hadn't been completely turned upside down in a days time. "Michel what am I doing here?"

"How should I know? I'm guessing you are in need of some sort of grocery item."

"I mean in this world Michel. What am I doing in this world?"

"Oh that…" Michel smiled in that condescending way of his. "You are getting a chance to see if you made the right decision or not when you turned down that yummy Logan Huntzberger's proposal."

"Well I know that but why Michel?" She made the decision to ignore the fact that he'd just called Logan yummy.

"I can't answer that." Michel told her softly. "All I can do is make sure that you don't end up in a loony bin."

At least she knew that there was a plan in place in case she got caught.

"How is it going so far?"

Rory sighed and shrugged. "It's all very frustrating. It's like I have this other life that I seem completely happy in, but I can't just enjoy it because I'm constantly wondering how in the hell did I get here? I mean I work for the St. Petersburg Times even though a woman from the Washington Post is breathing down my neck trying to get me to join her staff. I have this adoring husband, but I don't know anything about our last four years together. Stephanie and Colin are married with a daughter and I don't even know where they live."

Michel gently patted her on the shoulder.

Rory willed herself not to cry. The last thing she needed to do was have a nervous breakdown in the middle of a market where more than likely one of her neighbors would recognize her. That would just give her another thing to stress about. "And the worst part of it is I think maybe I made the wrong choice."

Michel didn't say anything. He wasn't surprised by her answer. He rarely was. In most cases he knew what the person was going to say when they shared this moment. Hell he typically knew before they did.

"What happens when this journey is all over?"

"You'll be presented with a choice."

"To stay in this world or go back to the other?"

Michel smiled. "Something like that."

Rory nodded. "How much longer do I have?"

"There's no way to tell," Michel admitted softly. "You know Rory this journey is more than you figuring out whether or not letting Logan walk out of your life was a mistake. This is just as much about you trying to figure out what you really want in life. So many people don't understand that about this journey. It's about getting to really know yourself. It's a chance to really examine the person you've allowed yourself to become."

Rory realized that maybe she hadn't really grasped this part of the assignment. Sure she had tried to figure out what was going through this other Rory's mind when she was making decisions. Still she hadn't really considered what she would do if she were in the same situation.

"You should know I'm not usually this helpful."

Rory stifled a laugh. She could only imagine how big of a pain in the ass Michel probably seemed to be to most other people.

"You should probably get going. They may send a search party out for you soon."

Rory nodded and turned to walk away. She stopped though when she realized why she had come over here in the first place. "You don't happen to know anything about avocadoes do you?"

"You know normally I would say what do I look like to you, but because it's you I'm going to help you out just one more time." Michel reached into the stack of avocadoes and pulled out four beautiful ones. "Sofie will be very impressed with your selection."

"Thank you Michel," Rory air kissed both of his cheeks because she knew how much Michel detested any form of contact that he hadn't pre-approved. "If I survive this I'll buy you tickets to see Celine in Vegas."

"I'll hold you to that. Enjoy this Rory," Michel called after her.

- X - X - X - X -

"Was it a hard choice?" Rory asked Logan later that night as they lay in bed enjoying the silence and each other's company. The question had been running through her mind since the moment she learned that Logan had left Palo Alto for her. They hadn't moved to Boca Raton because it was better for him, but because it was better for her.

"I'm pretty good at reading your mind Ace, but not this good." Logan joked. "What exactly are you referring to?"

"Leaving Palo Alto to come here for my career. Was it a hard choice for you?"

"At first yes," Logan admitted. "I loved our life in Palo Alto. I loved going to the city to see a show. I loved our avocado tree. I loved everything about it. But then I realized that you had moved all the way across the country for me so maybe I should be willing to do the same for you. And honestly Ace I would live almost anywhere if it meant I was with you."

"You're amazing," Rory whispered as she softly kissed his chest.

While she had to question so many things when it came to this life she never once had to question how to be with Logan. It was like the most natural thing in the world. If there was one thing that she always loved about her relationship with Logan it was their ability to just be together. Later she'd date other guys who always needed to fill the silence with some sort of chatter. She'd date guys who didn't understand the concept of just laying in a bed together. She never realized how rare what she had with Logan was until she dated other guys.

"Did Trish email you again?"

Rory sighed into his chest.

"You know if you wanted to work for the Post we could pack up and move to D.C. tomorrow. I'd follow you there. Sofie wouldn't probably but we could leave her enough money so she'd be more than comfortable. We could turn this into our vacation home. We could go."

Rory knew without a doubt that she was going to cry. There was just no way that she was going to be able to listen to such a heartfelt admission like that and not cry. How could she have ever doubted him? How could she have ever thought he would hold her back?

"Is that what you want Rory?" Logan asked when she didn't say anything.

"No it isn't." Rory replied without thinking. She wanted the option to exist. She wanted to know that he would do that for her. Still she didn't actually want to work for the Post. She could only imagine the wrinkles she would get from working there and living in D.C.

"You swear?"

"I swear."

Logan smirked. "Good because I'd really miss my boat and nobody makes guacamole like Sofie. Plus I don't miss snow. White Christmases are overrated."

Rory laughed into Logan's chest. She allowed herself to do what Michel had asked. She thought about the things that she had always thought she wanted. She thought she wanted to be a foreign correspondent. She thought she wanted to work for a major newspaper and be a household name. She thought she wanted to be the kind of a successful journalist that other girls aspired to be. And yet she didn't seem to be any of those things in this life and still she had never felt better. She didn't feel like she was always running behind or like the weight of the world was on her shoulders.

She was pretty sure that when the time came it was going to be a fairly simple choice for her. She loved being Mrs. Huntzberger.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: WHEN SOMEONE SUGGESTED THAT MICHEL SHOULD BE THE GUIDE I WAS SUPER IMPRESSED. I LOVE MICHEL. HE IS A TOTAL ASSHAT AND I LOVE HIM FOR THAT. I THOUGHT HE WOULD MAKE A MOST EXCELLENT GUIDE. SO IT SEEMS LIKE THE ANSWER TO WHICH LIFE RORY WANTS TO LIFE IS A NO BRAINER. STILL THERE IS ONE MORE CURVEBALL THAT I HAVE UP MY SLEEVE THAT MAY CHANGE HER DECISION JUST A LITTLE. I THINK THAT THERE MIGHT ONLY BE A FEW CHAPTERS OF THIS LEFT. I KNOW THAT SOUNDS HARD TO BELIEVE SEEING AS THERE ARE SO MANY QUESTIONS THAT MAYBE DON'T FEEL ANSWERED BUT HONESTLY I DON'T SEE HOW LONG I CAN DRAG THIS STORY ON. ANYWAY THANK YOU FOR TUNING BACK IN. PLEASE REVIEW BECAUSE IT TOTALLY INSPIRES ME. ANY COMMENTS, QUESTIONS, CONCERNS OR IDEAS SHOULD BE EXPRESSED VIA REVIEW. - KRISTINE. **


	5. A Decision Is Made

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: THIS CHAPTER WAS THE HARDEST TO WRITE. LIKE I'VE NEVER STRUGGLED THIS MUCH TO WRITE A CHAPTER. I HOPE THAT YOU LIKE IT. I AM SORRY IT TAKES ME SO LONG TO UPDATE. THANK YOU FOR NOT GIVING UP ON ME. – KRISTINE. **

**RATING: PG**

**DISCLAIMER: YEAH, NO. **

**CHAPTER FIVE: A DECISION IS MADE**

- R - & - L -

Monday morning she was surprised to wake up completely alone in the middle of their huge bed to the sound of a blaring alarm clock. When she realized she was alone she temporarily panicked to make sure that she hadn't woken up back in Rory Gilmore's life. The sight of their wedding picture on her bedside table beside her alarm clock quickly relieved her panic. She silenced her alarm, grabbing her phone off of her table to check her emails. She was surprised to only find two. Rory Gilmore woke up to at least 15 emails every morning. Waking up to so many emails always made her feel like she started off everyday behind. She clicked on the first one, a message from a Zoe Richards. The subject made her think that Zoe was her assistant, which was another worthwhile bit of knowledge.

_To: Rory Huntzberger_

_From: Zoe Richards_

_Subject: Today's Schedule_

_Ro, _

_I just wanted to remind you that you had a meeting with Camille Pines at 10:00 to discuss the expansion of the advertising section this year for the debutante ball. Also I've set aside 12:30 as you requested. I hope you are using it to have lunch with your delicious husband. Craig Meyers wants to sit down with you sometime this afternoon if you have time. I asked his assistant what it was about and was only able to learn that it had something to do with his annual spring fashion show. _

_Let me know what to tell Craig. Thanks for letting me to come in late today. You're the best!_

_- Zoe_

_P.S.: Don't "accidentally" forget to bring my plantains. I already talked to Sofie to confirm that she made this morning for me._

Never in her life had she been more grateful to receive an email. Without this email she was pretty sure that Camille Pines would have been looking at her as if she had shown up on the job drunk. She couldn't help but be surprised that she hadn't mentioned to Zoe to block off 12:30 because she had a doctor's appointment. The playfulness of the email suggested that Zoe had a special place in Rory Huntzberger's or as Zoe called her Ro's life. Still maybe it was just a simple fact that had been lost in translation.

She quickly skimmed the next email which was just a mass one about an upcoming charity event the country club was hosting. She deleted it and was about to set her phone down to get ready when another email popped up. Much to her surprise it was from none other than Paris, who as her email address suggested was employed by Massachusetts General Hospital. She couldn't help but chuckle at the fact that her decision hadn't really done much to impact Paris' life.

_To: Rory Huntzberger_

_From: Paris Gellar_

_Subject: Appointment_

_Hey Rory I just wanted to shoot you a quick email. I remembered that you had your appointment with Al today. I know you're probably worried, but I'm sure that everything is going to be fine. Al's one of the best in this field and you know that's true or else I would have demanded you fly up here and see one of my colleagues. Hope all is well. I read in the business section that Logan landed yet another big deal. Who'd have thought South Florida would be a better home for his business than San Francisco? _

_Also I got your Happy Holidays card today. I'm glad you took my suggestion and went for a nondenominational card because as I reminded you last year Christmas cards can be viewed as alienating. Great picture of you two, but then again when have you two ever taken a bad picture. _

_Call me after the appointment or I'll harass that multi-colored hair assistant of yours until she'd be willing to conform before she'd take another one of my calls. _

_Love, Paris_

Except for the sendoff, Rory wasn't the least bit surprised by Paris' email. She took a moment to try to remember a single time that she had heard Paris use the word love in reference to her. All she could come up with were the times that Paris used the word to mock things that Rory liked such as oh Rory just loves pompous, self-important pricks. That was during the early days of Rory and Logan's relationship with Paris would openly talk about how she didn't trust Logan as far as she could throw him. Then again she might have used the word because she was nervous about Rory's appointment with Dr. Weisberg. It seemed as if she was the one who set it up, which didn't surprise her because even Rory Gilmore constantly had to be reminded to go to the doctor by her bossiest friend. Still what did surprise her was the fact that Paris was trying to comfort her. Normally emails in reference to doctor's appointments were instead text messages that said don't forget. They were long and obviously heartfelt penned emails that ended with a request to hear how it went. In the end Paris was right as usual because suddenly she was worried.

She took a deep breath as she opened a Browser window on her phone and then quickly typed Dr. Al Weisberg and South Florida in to the search engine. She gasped softly when the first article she opened claimed Dr. Weisberg as the best fertility doctor in the region. Suddenly it all made sense.

She hadn't told anyone but Paris about the problem because Paris was Paris and despite the fact that she was crazy and intimidating she also was skilled at keeping things like this private. Plus while Paris was a member of their group it wasn't as if she was calling Stephanie on the weekends to chat about the benefits of yoga. Rory Huntzberger knew that if she turned to Paris in her hour of need not only would she find someone competent to go to, but she would willingly serve as an outlet for all of her stress.

Rory did the only thing she could think to do. She calmly set her phone back on her nightstand and then went to go get dressed. It wasn't until she was in the shower that she finally let the tears fall because apparently Rory Huntzberger's life wasn't so perfect after all.

- R - & - L -

Despite sitting in on boring meetings for as long as she could remember she'd never once in her entire life phoned it in before. Even when she wanted to tune out she'd never been good at. That is until she was forced to listen to Camille Pine go on and on about potential businesses that she would approach for debutante ball advertising. As she was allowing Camille to kiss her cheek and wish her a happy holidays she couldn't for the life of her remember a single thing that they'd discussed. The entire time she wondered things like how long they'd been trying to have a baby, if Logan had noticed that they hadn't been successful yet, and if this was why Rory wasn't interested in the Post job. She laughed bitterly at the realization that she had gotten way too comfortable thinking about herself as two separate entities.

"What's so funny?"

Rory's head snapped up and she was surprised to find a girl with black hair and electric blue highlights staring at her with an amused expression on her face. This she assumed was her assistant Zoe because how many multi-colored hair girls could seriously work here. "Nothing just having a case of the Mondays," she joked but even to her own ears she knew that her voice wasn't nearly light enough to seem funny.

"Camille has a tendency to do that to people," Zoe replied as she grabbed Rory's empty coffee mug off of her desk for freshening up.

"I just had a long weekend and am having a hard time getting back into the swing of things," she explained using an excuse that for once was actually true. She could easily see why Rory was partial to this girl even if she definitely was a bit more hipster than any of the kids who worked at the network.

Zoe grinned before teasing, "You know it does get harder to bounce back the older you get."

"I can't even argue with you on that one because it does. I can remember being in college and allowing Logan to convince me three hours of sleep was more enough to function on." Those had definitely been the days. Early on during the tour the other reporters had begged for her to join them when they went out to enjoy the best of local nightlife in whatever town they were in. At the time she'd been too depressed about her breakup and consumed with making sure that going on the tour had been the better choice that she'd always declined. After that it was like whatever partying skills she'd developed were lost. The only thing that had actually remained was her sudden taste for expensive hard liquors which was a good thing because she'd had enough Wild Turkey over the course of the last two days to last her a lifetime.

"Well good thing I am forcing you to take the rest of the day off so you can do whatever rich good looking people like you and Logan do when snarky, hipster kids like me decide that you should just go home."

"What about the meeting with Craig?"

"Not going to be scheduled."

"I'm sure there's something else I need to do."

"Nothing that can't wait," Zoe assured her. "We both know I'll have security remove you if I need to."

She sighed in defeat because she could already tell that Zoe was the type who would actually follow that kind of threat up. She needed to leave for her appointment anyway. "Did you get your plantains?"

"Of course, why do you think it took so long for me to come in here and check to see if your coffee needed to be refreshed? Tell Sofie she's my hero."

"Will do," Rory said as she stood and collected her belongings.

"You really are turning over a new leaf. Not only did you not make me go out there and pick up my phone to call security but you also didn't attack me for answers about my date this weekend with your beloved Garrett. If I didn't know better I would guess that the real Rory had been kidnapped and you were her doppelganger."

Rory knew she should have just scoffed and said something like Zoe needed to stop watching so much Twilight Zone, but instead she said, "Maybe I'm just Rory from a different world sent here to see what my life would have been like if I made a different choice."

"Then I have to know what your findings are?"

"Well she's pretty lucky to have an above average assistant who might be on the bossy side but really seems to care about her. Logan could potentially be a vampire if in five years he continues to look exactly the same as he did in college. There is no one else who does Sofie's job that can compete with her. Finally she's so lucky that she lives somewhere where you can layout in tan in the middle of December."

"So your overall assessment of Rory Huntzberger's life is?"

"She's damn lucky," Rory whispered softly.

Zoe nodded and squeezed her shoulder gently. "We're lucky to have you too Ro."

Rory chuckled softly. She knew that Zoe just thought she was being reminiscent about her awesome her life was and she appreciated that, "I'm glad."

"And not only is Martha Stewart my bossy equal, but I had a great time with Garrett and we're doing sushi and karaoke tonight," Zoe smiled before leaving but not before reminding Rory to get her ass out of there.

- R - & - L -

She thought she was going to be sick. She'd been sitting her car outside of Dr. Weisberg's office for almost an hour. She just couldn't make herself turn the car on. Despite what Paris had told her everything was not going to be okay. Apparently she had ovarian cancer. While it wasn't stage 4 it was still late stage which according to him meant that their treatment options would need to be aggressive to win this fight. The good news was that the numbers for women diagnosed with ovarian cancer were improving dramatically. The bad news was that between the chemo, radiation, and surgery she'd need her chances of having a child were almost non-existent. She could feel another bought of tears on the horizon and was about to let out another painful sob when she heard her phone buzzing beside her. She looked down and chuckled when she saw a picture of an obviously drunk Paris. For a moment she considered ignoring the call, but decided against it when she remembered Paris' threats about hounding Zoe.

"Hey Paris," she tried to sound normal, but knew that she'd failed miserably. She wished it was cold out so she could blame it on being sick.

"What'd he say?"

"He said I had late stage ovarian cancer."

Paris cursed softly before saying, "With your financial resources and overall health despite eating like a male freshman in college you'll be fine Rory."

"I know but," she paused and wiped her noise. "I won't be able to have kids."

"Once again with your financial resources you'll adopt or hire a surrogate. It'll be okay. Logan loves you enough that he won't care if that baby wasn't created after too much champagne and cliché pickup lines."

"I guess you actually did listen during your bedside manner course," she said as she let out a ragged breath. Never in a million years would she have guessed that Paris Gellar would have swooped in and been her hero in her moment of need.

- R - & - L –

Rory was mildly surprised to return home and find Logan lying by the pool and reading a file. He was shirtless and she couldn't help but marvel again at his ability to look the same as he had in college. "You know if I didn't know better I would think you were a kept man."

Logan smirked, tossed the file to the side and patted his lap. "This is just one of several perks of being able to work mostly from home."

"I see," she smiled while sitting down on his lap. She sighed softly as he kissed her in that way of his that always seemed to leave her feeling weak in the knees. Even the soft, fleeting ones could do that to her.

"Are you okay Ace? You look like I've been crying."

She smiled weakly, nodded, and shrugged. She could see that he doubted her so she said, "I heard one of those anti-bullying commercials on the radio and for some reason it got to me."

Logan continued to stare at her, searching her eyes to make sure that there wasn't something she was hiding. Finally he smiled again before asking, "So Garrett couldn't stop smiling today."

"Zoe said they're doing sushi and karaoke tonight." She couldn't help but smile brighter when she saw the way his face lit up at this news. Logan had become meddler. She could hardly believe it. This was the man who always insisted that you had to let people just live their lives and here he was meddling and being happy about it.

"It's nice having you back Ace," he whispered softly as he placed gentle kisses on her arm.

She tensed, wondering if he had noticed that something about her had changed. Then again if that was the case then wouldn't he have noticed that she still wasn't acting like her older self?

"You've just seem so distracted since we started talking about having kids. I didn't mean to put pressure on you. I just wanted you to know that if you were at that point then I was too."

She closed her eyes. The word cancer was silently screaming at her.

"Do you not want kids Rory?" His voice was even, but it was obvious by the look on his face that he was worried by her reaction.

"It's not that Logan. I mean of course I want kids. I just-" she started even though she wasn't sure at all how you went about telling the person you loved the most that you'd just received a diagnosis today that could kill you.

"Are next in line for the Editor-In-Chief job," he supplied for her. "I know all that and that's why I've decided that I'd rather have you, my boat, Sofie, and good friends than lose you because I made you put your life on hold."

And it was in that moment that Rory knew she was going to have to walk away because there was no way she could handle the risk of making Logan watch her die. Rory Huntzberger might have strong enough to handle that, but she definitely wasn't. Instead of crying like she wanted to she decided that she'd at least enjoy one last night with Logan.

"You know I was thinking that we could go eat way too much, drink way too much, call a cab, and then come home and enjoy a little too much of something else that'll at least help us burn some calories," she suggested in the sultry tone she didn't even know she had until she met him.

Logan smirked, "Best idea ever, but first I think we should go swimming."

"Swimming?"

"Skinny-dipping to be specific."

"What about Sofie?"

"Gambling in friends with Miami until Wednesday," he reminded her.

Rory leaned in really close and whispered, "That's how you make a good idea great."

- R - & - L -

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: SO I'M REALLY INTERESTED TO SEE WHAT YA'LL HAVE TO SAY ABOUT THIS CHAPTER. YOU KNOW HER DECISION NOW. DO YOU WANT IT TO CHANGE? DID YOU SEE THIS COMING? I THINK THERE ARE TWO MORE CHAPTERS LEFT OF THIS STORY. I WILL TRY AND UPDATE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. I WILL SAY YOUR REVIEWS THAT BEG FOR UPDATES WORK! LIKE SERIOUSLY I GET THEM AND I FEEL GUILTY AND I WORK OUT TIME IN MY SCHEDULE TO DO THIS. SO YEAH. YOU GUYS ARE AMAZING AND LIKE I SAID I AM INTERESTED TO READ WHAT YA'LL HAVE TO SAY. – KRISTINE. **


	6. The Only Man to Make Her Unravel

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: YEP THIS IS AN ACTUAL UPDATE. I HOPE YA'LL ENJOY. **

**RATING: PG-13 (THERE IS A BIT SEDUCTIVE CONTENT IN THIS CHAPTER)**

**DISCLAIMER: UH, NO. **

**CHAPTER SIX: THE ONLY MAN TO MAKE HER UNRAVEL**

- R - & - L -

"Tell me a story," she murmured trying desperately to stave off the sleep her body seemed to crave. Normally this was her favorite moment of intimacy and she welcomed the warm and fuzzy feeling it brought. Tonight though all she wanted to do was keep it at bay. She knew that the moment she closed her eyes and allowed the sleep to overcome her that Michel would wrench her from this life and force her to choose. She knew that her second chance would be over as suddenly as it started and she'd be back living her fast-paced, but dreadfully lonely life as Rory Gilmore.

She'd been on her third margarita and second plate of boiled shrimp. Logan had just finished a particularly hilarious story about a recent phone call with a Japanese businessman who refused to discuss the deal via a translator or in Japanese despite his ineffective grasp of the English language. Afterwards he'd kissed her cheek and asked her to order him another plate of oysters as well as one of the expensive imported beers that he loved before going to the bathroom. Imagine Rory's surprise when she flagged down who she thought was their waiter and instead found Michel staring back at her. She'd gulped knowing that his presence couldn't be a good thing. He'd explained that her journey was coming to an end as soon as she went to sleep tonight so she should think long and hard about the decision at hand. When Logan returned she'd tried desperately to forget about Michel's sudden presence, but it was futile. All she could think about as Logan gently kissed her wrist and listed all of the reasons he was the luckiest man in the world, was that she was so very grateful to have gotten a chance to be Mrs. Huntzberger.

Logan's eyes were closed and his right hand was lazily playing with her soft hair. "What kind of a story?"

"One of ours," she urged. She bit her lip as she silently relished the way something so simple as him playing with hair could give her chills. The first time it ever happened she thought it was a fluke. Never had she felt Dean, Jess, Tristan or any of the other guys she dated after Logan touches from her head to her toes like she did Logan's.

He pursed his lips and stared at the ceiling for a second trying to decide which story he should tell her. Finally he smirked, "I can still remember the first time we spent the night together."

She smiled, but remained silent.

"You were wearing this beautiful baby blue turtleneck that made your eyes even bluer than I thought humanly possible," he said as he moved his hand to her bare shoulder and started to lightly draw circles. "When you pulled it off and I smirked, you blushed so violently that I had t bit my lip to keep from laughing because I knew you would misinterpret it."

"I would have thought you were laughing at how plain my bra was," she admitted softly. Back then she had subscribed to the no frills school of lingerie purchasing. It didn't take long for her to step her game up when their rendezvous became frequent enough that she stopped blushing.

"Exactly," he agreed. "So I just stared at you in absolute awe because you were the most flawless human being I'd ever seen. I memorized every inch of you that first night. I didn't know if you'd let your guard down enough to try it again so I made a point to remember."

She smiled sadly and let out a ragged breath. How could she have ever doubted him? How could she have ever let him slip through her fingers?

"Hey, hey," he said when he realized that she had started to cry. "I didn't mean to make you upset."

"You didn't. It's probably the Margaritas. You know tequila makes me sentimental," she joked as she furiously wiped away the few stray tears that had fallen. "You know that night was the first time I'd ever-" she paused, too bashful to finish admission.

"I know," he chuckled softly smirking as he placed a gentle kiss in her hair.

"How?"

"Your face," he explained. "Your expression made it clear that while you were enjoying what was going on you weren't entirely sure what was happening."

She closed her eyes, glad that it was too dark for him to be able to see her blush like a schoolgirl who had just heard a dirty story for the first time.

"It made me angry at Dean even though I'd only seen him that one time at your grandparent's house. I kept thinking how in the world he couldn't see just how precious of a gift you'd given him, only for him to squander it."

"I don't know if he was capable of anything else."

"Can I just tell you that it is a real ego booster to know that I'm the only man who has ever made you unravel," he whispered softly in a smooth, husky tone.

She locked eyes with him, smiling and then leaning up to give him a quick kiss. She resisted the urge to tell him just how true that statement would still prove to be even now when she'd been with four more partners than she had then. "I love you Logan."

"I love you too Ace," he replied, "Always have and always will."

The last thing she thought before sleep finally overcame her was that she wished that was true.

- L - & - R -

"Rory," Michel said as he gently shook her shoulder. "It's time."

Rory groaned softly as she opened her eyes. Michel was now wearing a charcoal grey suit that she recognized as being from Stephanie's men's line. She glanced at Logan for a second and tried to memorize just how peaceful he looked in that moment. His hair was messy. His mouth was slightly open. His wedding band shone perfectly in the moonlight. She tried to remember it all. Finally she nodded and took Michel's outstretched hand. She was glad that she had made a point to slip back into a nightgown after their lovemaking or Michel would have been in for a quite sight.

"Close your eyes," he instructed. "This might feel a little strange."

She took one last look at Logan before squeezing her eyes shut. Within seconds it was almost like they were on a roller coaster. She felt as if they were being jerked suddenly. And then within seconds it was over and they were standing in a beautiful French garden.

"Are you okay?" He asked, his voice dripping with so much concern that it seemed almost unnatural for him.

"Yes," she answered quietly as she looked around trying to take in all of their surroundings, wondering where exactly she was now.

"This is my idea of a retreat," he explained vaguely. "I think it makes the decision process easier to be in a beautiful and tranquil surrounding."

"It's very French."

"I know isn't it perfect?"

She smiled sadly musing again how strange of a situation this all was. She couldn't imagine what people who didn't know Michel thought of him when they first met their "guide".

"Anyway it is time for you to make your decision but from the way you looked at Logan before we left I think it is already clear what choice you've made," he said as he motioned for her to have a seat.

"She has cancer," she told him, her voice cracking as the word cancer escaped her lips. "I don't want to have him watch me potentially die. I can't do that. I love him and I can't watch him suffer that way."

He stared at her and then gently reached out to grab her hand. The squeeze he gave her was so gentle that it surprised even himself. "I have someone I want you to meet."

She frowned and watched as he stood and motioned towards someone who was standing off in the distance. "Who?" Before he could answer her question the person came closer and Rory realized that she was face-to-face with Rory Huntzberger.

"I'll let you two talk," Michel said once the other woman had arrived. He then quietly excused himself and headed off in the direction that Rory Huntzberger had come from.

- R - & - L -

Rory stood there awkwardly not sure how she was supposed to make conversation with this other version of herself. Another version of herself who despite looking tired seemed altogether more at peace than Rory could ever imagine herself appearing.

"It was cancer wasn't it," the other woman asked quietly even though it seemed obvious that she already knew the answer to the question.

Rory nodded taking a moment to close her eyes to try to keep her tears at bay, "Late stage ovarian."

The other woman's shoulders visibly sagged as she let out a ragged breath. She sat down on the bench in an effort to steady herself.

"Paris says you have a great chance at surviving. In fact she did everything but guarantee that you would beat it."

"But there won't be any children," she pointed.

"No," Rory admitted softly. "But I don't think he really cares about that."

She smiled sadly and nodded as she wiped her tears away with her sleeve. "Your success is amazing."

"It's nothing. I'm definitely not the next Editor-In-Chief at the St. Petersburg Times."

The other Rory scoffed. "I love my job, but let's not pretend it's on the same level as yours. You are covering stories the kind of stories we dreamed of. I considered taking the Post job so many times, but now I know that maybe I don't have the drive it takes anymore."

"And I've realized that drive doesn't get you nearly as far as the love of a good man will," Rory admitted softly. "You're going to beat the cancer. I know you will. You're Mrs. Huntzberger after all."

Rory Huntzberger smiled softly. As she stood she told Rory, "He isn't dating anyone. You could always give it another chance. Stephanie said that he was going to Boston for Christmas. If he's anything like my Logan then he'll stay at the Charles."

Before Rory could say anything in response the world suddenly went back. When she woke up the next morning she was back in her apartment. She lay there for a second desperately resisting the urge to cry. And then she was reminded of Rory Huntzberger's final words to her. He'd be in Boston for Christmas. He'd probably stay at the Charles. She grabbed her always handy planner and checked the date. It was December 23rd. She didn't have much time.

- R - & - L -

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: THERE'S ONE MORE CHAPTER. IF YA'LL ARE LUCKY THERE MIGHT BE AN EPILOGUE TO GO ALONG WITH IT. THANK YOU FOR TUNING IN. I HOPE THAT THIS MADE YA'LL HAPPY. THE LAST SECTION WAS REALLY TRICKY TO WRITE. I HOPE THAT WASN'T TOO CONFUSING. THANKS AGAIN! YA'LL REALLY ARE THE BEST! - KRISTINE. **


	7. What Do You Say

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: THIS CHAPTER IS A BEAST. YOUR KIND WORDS WERE APPRECIATED AND INSPIRED ME TO GET THIS DONE. YA'LL ARE AMAZING! - KRISTINE.**

**RATING: PG**

**DISCLAIMER: UH, NO. **

**CHAPTER SEVEN: WHAT DO YOU SAY?**

- R - & - L -

"San Francisco Chronicle, Henry Weaver's desk. This is Jules speaking. How may I help you?"

Rory closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Her nerves were buzzing. Her heart was pounding loudly in her chest. To put it mildly she was on edge and more than a little nervous. She couldn't remember the last time she had felt this way. Then again she couldn't remember the last time she had been this invested in a phone call. "Hi Jules, this is Rory Gilmore. I'm calling to speak with Henry Weaver. Is he available?"

"I'm sorry Ms. Gilmore but Henry is about to step into a meeting. If you'll give me your contact information I'll have him call you back."

Rory didn't have to be in the same room with Jules' to know that her voice sounded smiley, but she was probably wearing a bored scowl. She always envied receptionist's ability to sound enthusiastic about doing jobs that it was obvious they could hardly stand.

Normally this was the point when Rory would have nodded and spouted off her contact information. Still one glance at the clock told her that she did not have very much time if her plan was going to work out the way she had written it. Instead she smiled tightly and said, "Jules if you could just let Henry know that I'm on the line before he takes the meeting I'm sure he'll appreciate it."

"I'd love to do that for you Ms. Gilmore, but…" Jules paused. In the background Rory could hear a man speaking to her. Suddenly she was back on the line, "Ms. Gilmore did you say your first name was Rory?"

"Yes, yes it is." Rory replied feeling her pulse quicken a bit as she noted how much more interested Jules seemed to be in what she had to say.

"I'm patching you to Henry's office. It'll be just a second."

Rory smiled and pumped her fist as little as if she had just won a tennis match. "Thank you very much Jules."

- R - & - L -

"Rory Gilmore," Henry said the moment he picked up the phone. It was clear that he was pleasantly surprised to be receiving a phone call from her.

The last time Rory had spoken to Henry she'd been 23 and looking for a job after months covering the Obama campaign. At the time he'd been the features editor for the Oregorian. Unlike many of the other papers that approached her, he'd pitched her several times. During each pitch he'd passionately detailed all of the reasons while print journalism was still better than broadcast. He'd talked about how she could help him make the Oregorian the kind of paper that people wanted to subscribe to even though they lived in Phoenix, Arizona or Augusta, Maine. He'd charmed her. If World Wide News hadn't called with an offer to join them in their international news department she probably would have given him a chance.

Now three years later Henry had moved on from the Oregorian to take a management position at the Chronicle. Her hope was that he would remember how enchanted he'd been by her once upon a time and was willing to find a place for her there. If not, then she hoped he could at least put her in the right direction as to a bay area journalism job.

"Henry," she replied, channeling her inner-Emily Gilmore and doing her best to turn on the charm. It was during times like this that her debutante training actually came in handy. "Your receptionist said you were just about to go into a meeting so thank you for squeezing me."

"How could I not squeeze you in?" He asked chuckling softly. "It may have been three years ago Ms. Gilmore but I still remember how badly I wanted you to be a part of my staff at the Oregorian. Still I can't blame you for choosing World Wide News. They've really provided you a great platform to report on international affairs. Your story about the AIDS epidemic in Zimbabwe made my wife cry."

She smiled and bit her lip. That had been a particularly taxing story to cover. It had taken nearly three weeks to get the kind of material she felt were a must to adequately do the crisis justice. After returning to the States, she had taken a rare week long vacation to Stars Hollow to visit her mother in an attempt to recover from the mental drain.

"Thank you Henry," she told him graciously. "I really was charmed by your pitches."

He snorted softly and smiled. "Well I'm glad. I never wanted to be a thorn in your side. Anyway Rory what can I do for you today?"

Rory took a deep breath and ran a shaky hand through her chestnut brown hair. "I was wondering if you wouldn't mind pitching me again."

"What about the World Wide News?"

"A wise man once told me that print journalism was superior to broadcast," she explained, smiling self-consciously as if they were in a meeting together instead of on the phone. She couldn't help but think that if she were on the phone with him that she would have probably handled this whole situation with a little more self-assuredness. "I think I'd like to see if he was right."

She held her breath as she was met with what seemed like the loudest silence she'd ever encountered in her entire life. Briefly she considered backtracking and thanking him for his time before quickly rushing off the phone.

"It won't be glamorous, but as long as you are okay with that then of course there is a place for you here at the Chronicle."

She had to resist the urge to dance. Instead she simply allowed herself to smile like a fool. "Thank you so much Henry. You won't regret it."

"I know I won't. When are you out of your contract with WWN?"

"My contract?" She asked. Dread started to fill her as she realized that she hadn't even thought twice about her contract.

"Consult your contract and let me know when you'll be available for us to hire you. Our position will be open for you as soon as you are available to take it." He promised. His voice was at this point noticeably softer. She wondered if it was because he felt as if he'd just gotten his hopes up.

"I'll look at the contract and talk to my supervisor Walt. I'll let you know a date as soon as I possibly can."

The moment that they hung up the phone she quickly rushed to her office. She wrenched open her file cabinet and snatched out the hunter green file folder she had snagged from the office to hold it. Her heart squeezed in agony when she realized that World Wide News had her under contract until January of 2013. She let out a shaky breath that was just bordering on ragged. There was no way she could show up in Boston declaring to Logan that she would be moving to the Bay Area in 2013 with hopes to win him back.

She needed another plan.

- R - & - L -

Walt Manning had been working at World Wide News since the days where it was acceptable to smoke indoors. When he spoke about events like the bombings in Birmingham it was with an authority that made it clear that he did more than just cover it, he lived it. He'd always reminded Rory a great deal of her grandfather which was why she was dreading having to have this meeting with him.

"Rory," he greeted kindly as he stood from his desk, revealing that he didn't the camera or a news desk to make him seem tall. It wasn't until she sat down in the worn leather chair that she knew his wife of nearly 35 years, June, had bought for him, did he sit back down. "What brings you in today?"

She paused, struggling how best to word her question. Finally she settled on, "I wanted to discuss my contract."

"Really?" He asked evidently surprised. "I would have thought we wouldn't be having this conversation for at least another six months. After all you have an entire year left."

"I know," she said, "That's actually the problem."

He frowned, his brows furrowing deeply. "I'm not sure I follow you."

"I want out of my contract," she explained softly.

She couldn't bear make eye contact with him. She knew that whatever look she'd find would only somehow make her question her sanity. Her eyes found a picture of him and June. She knew from a story that he'd shared with her when she'd first gotten the job that it was from their senior prom. She remembered the way his face softened anytime he talked about June. Slowly she was able to meet his eyes again. His love for June reminded her why she was doing this.

"Rory I don't understand. Is it another news network? I thought you enjoyed working here."

"I do Walt. I really do."

"Then why would you want out of your contract?" He asked clearly puzzled and shocked about the turn this meeting was taking.

She looked at that picture of Walt and June again before smiling sadly, "Logan Huntzberger."

"The Bay Area media mogul?"

"My ex-boyfriend."

"Oh." He replied. "He wants to get back together?"

She exhaled noisily, "Not exactly. You see he proposed to me Walt. He wanted to spend forever with me. I was too foolish to understand that forever didn't mean compromising who I was. He's still single and I'm still in love with him."

"And so you're going to try to win him back?"

She nodded, "Exactly."

He stared at her for a second. It was obvious that he didn't quite know what to make of the discussion they were having. Finally he spoke up, "You'll have to stay away off of television until your contract would have expired."

"That's fine. I thought I would return to print. I've lined up a position at the Chronicle."

"Are you sure about all of this Rory?"

"Honestly? No. I'm not. But I love him Walt and have so for four years. I need to do this." She admitted. She quickly wiped her eyes when she felt herself start to tear up.

He smiled somberly. "Then consider your contract voided as of January 1, 2012."

"Thank you Walt," she said as she stood to hug him. "I know it's crazy, but thank you for supporting me."

"Rory I've always said you needed something other than your job. If this will make you happy then it'll make me happy."

As she went to clear her desk, she couldn't help but again think that Walt was a chip off of Richard Gilmore's block. Well that and she was really going to do this.

- R - & - L -

She stood in the middle of her closet glowering at all of the options that surrounded her. Normally it would have taken her a second to get ready no matter what the event. Tonight thought she couldn't help but think that she needed to pick out something special. She couldn't just wear a mundane block cocktail dress, that wouldn't be enough. She grabbed her cordless phone off of her shoerack and dialed a familiar number silently hoping that the person on the other end would answer.

"This is Stephanie Vanderbilt," Stephanie greeted in a tone so formal, it was hard for Rory to understand how it belonged to her.

"Hi Steph, it's me Rory. I'm calling from my home phone. Actually more accurately I'm calling from my closet."

"Rory," she trilled apparently pleased to be hearing from her. "To what do I owe a phone call from your closet?"

"I need fashion advice."

"Well you've called the right woman."

Rory grinned thinking that Stephanie sounded happier than she had the last time they talked. She wondered if it had anything to do with her situation with Colin.

"What type of event are you having to go to?"

"A meeting with an old friend," Rory answered. She knew that she was being vague but she couldn't risk her secret plan getting out.

"What kind of an old friend?" Stephanie asked, clearly interested in the nature of Rory's relationship with this so-called old friend.

She sighed not sure how to answer that question.

"What aren't you telling me Rory?"

When Rory didn't say anything Stephanie seemed to put all of the pieces together because she gasped softly in response.

"He's going to be in Boston for Christmas."

"So you're just going to show up and surprise him?"

"More like proposition him," she confessed. She didn't have to be in the same room as Stephanie to know that her eyebrows were probably raised so high they were nearly hidden in her hairline. "I quit my job at WNN today and took one with the San Francisco Chronicle."

Stephanie swore softly, "Holy shit Rory."

"You were right. I still love him. It may be too late, but I need to try."

"Holy shit," she swore again.

"Do you think you could say something other than holy shit?"

"I said yes to Colin."

"What?"

"Last night," Stephanie told her. "I called him and I said yes."

Rory let out a soft laugh. She sniffled as her eyes started to tear up again. She couldn't remember the last time she had cried this much. "I'm glad."

"Really?"

"Of course," Rory assured her. "You two were meant to be together."

"Wear the navy blue dress you wore for the interview you did with Condoleeza. It really brings out the color of your eyes," Stephanie told. A closer listen revealed that she was crying softly.

"What do you think he's going to say Steph?"

"I don't know," she admitted quietly. "But I know that you in that dress will be hard to turn down."

"I hope you're right."

"I usually am," she trilled, snorting softly. "I'm glad you're fighting for him. You two belong together as much as Colin and I do."

Rory released a shaky breath. "Let's hope he agrees."

- R - & - L -

It took a lot of convincing to get his room number. In fact Rory doubted she would have been able to get it if not for one of the bellhops recognizing her from the news. Apparently he was a fan of her work. Anyway thanks to his persuasion, the little blonde behind the desk told Rory that he was staying in suite 1603.

She thought she was going to faint during the elevator ride. Her heart kept pounding so loudly she wouldn't have been surprised if the elevator attendant could hear it. She had played with the hem of her dress in an effort to calm her nerves, but it wouldn't seem to work.

"Ma'am?" The bellhop asked, pulling her from her thoughts.

"Yes," Rory said, swallowing her nerves.

"This is your floor."

"Oh," she replied realizing that they were in fact stopped at floor 16. She smiled. "Thank you."

"No problem ma'am. Suite 1603 is to the right."

She nodded and took a deep as she stood in the hallway. It took her only a second to reach it. She simply stood outside his door for a second almost unable to convince herself to knock. Finally she raised a trembling hand and softly rapped her knuckles on the door. She held her breath as she waited for him to appear.

"Yes?" He asked as he opened the door. His phone was glued to his ear and he seemed distracted by something in the background.

She stood there silently waiting for his eyes to meet hers.

His eyes opened wide in surprise. "I'll need to call you back," he told whoever it was on the phone, hanging up quickly without waiting to see if they were okay with that. He stared at her for a second before asking, "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to come see you. Do you think I could come in?"

He glanced back at his room before looking at her again. It was clear that he was torn between sending her on her way and letting her in.

"I know I don't deserve it, but please hear me out," she pleaded.

He dipped his head before motioning for him to come in.

"How have you been?"

He smiled tightly. "Let's not talk like it hasn't been over four years since the last time we saw each other. Why are you here Rory?" He asked, sounding tired and more than a little confused.

She nervously went back to fiddling with the hem of her dress. "I had a dream that I said yes. We lived in Palo Alto. I wrote for the Chronicle until I got a job offer from the St. Petersburg Times. You were successful and had a boat. We had a housekeeper named Sofie. We were talking about having children. It was perfect."

"And so now you regret your decision to say no all because of a dream?" He spat, his voice hard and bitter.

"No I've regretted that decision since the day after I made it. I was just too foolish to ask for a second chance. That is until now."

He looked at her indignantly. "So I'm just supposed to take you back? We're supposed to get engaged like everything is just fine?"

"No," she told him, shaking her head. "I took a job at the Chronicle. I'm renting a house in Palo Alto. What I'm trying to say I just want to know if you'll be my friend. I know we need to do that before we can even try to get back to the place we once were."

"Friends?"

She smiled weakly, "Friends."

"We were never friends, Rory." He reminded her.

"Well we'll be us, whatever that means. What do you say?"

He looked down at the ground, clearly contemplating her offer. After a minute he glanced back up and said, "I say…"

- R - & - L -

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: ONE MORE CHAPTER. I'LL TRY TO GET IT UP AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. THE MORE REVIEWS, THE MORE LIKELY I CAN GIVE YOU GUYS THE EPILOGUE AS AN EARLY CHRISTMAS PRESENT. WHAT DO YOU SAY? THIS CHAPTER WAS A BEAST. I HOPE IT WASN'T TERRIBLE. IT WASN'T EASY TO WRITE, BUT I NEEDED TO GET IT DONE ALL IN THE NAME OF GETTING TO THE EPILOGUE. I THINK YOU'LL THAT A LITTLE MORE. YOU GUYS ARE AMAZING! I LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING YOUR THOUGHTS! - KRISTINE. **


	8. What Took You So Long

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: HERE'S YOUR EARLY CHRISTMAS PRESENT! - KRISTINE. **

**RATING: PG**

**DISCLAIMER: AND HAVE IT END THAT WAY? UH, NO. **

**CHAPTER EIGHT: WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG?**

- R - & - L -

He looked down at the ground, clearly contemplating her offer. After he glanced back up and said, "I say no."

She nodded imperceptibly. Her bottom lip was trembling. She blinked rapidly desperately trying to keep the tears at bay. All she could think was that she was a fool. She was a fool for saying no when he first proposed. She was a fool for never trying to repair the damage after he walked away. She was a fool for throwing herself into her work. Still now what she felt most foolish for was thinking that she could just come back here and try to fix things like they hadn't been shot to hell. She was a fool for thinking that he would just be willing to take her back when really despite her passionate plea and sacrifices she hadn't done much to sway him.

"I understand," she rasped silently thinking that she should have worn waterproof mascara even though all that really equated was mascara that ran a little less than usual. "I should probably let you go. I know you were talking business when you answered the door."

"That's it? He asked.

Her face scrunched in bewilderment. "What do you mean that's it? You just said no. I think the normal response would be for me to let you be."

"I just would have thought you would have fought a little harder Ace. I mean you did tell me that you left your job at WNN and were moving to Bay Area in hopes that we could give us another shot. And when I say no your only response is to just sort of limp away like a wounded puppy?"

"Logan I'm not sure what you want from me. Do you want me to hit my knees and beg that you reconsider? Do you want me to lay it all out there even more because I think quitting my job would have been enough to convince you if you were able to be convinced," she said, her voice bordering just on contentious.

He smirked. "I'm just saying Ace I thought you would at least fight for this idea of yours. Living in the Bay Area with no friends can be lonely. Trust me I know from experience. You suggested that we could be friends first. What exactly would we do as friends?"

She looked up at him in disbelief angry words on the tip of her tongue when she realized that he was fucking with her. Logan Huntzberger was screwing with her. His smirk said that he yes he would like to be at the very least friends come January when she moved to the Bay Area, but first he wanted to make her feel a little bad.

She smiled weakly, "You're impossible."

"That's probably true," he admitted. "But I had to at least give you a little bit of a hard time. I mean you did trample heart the last time we saw each other face-to-face though sometimes your news stories also caused me heartache."

"If I could go back I would have said yes," she whispered. Tears started to streak down her cheeks when it proved impossible for her to keep them at bay any longer. "I was a terrified college grad. I thought marrying you would me giving up my career."

"I would have never wanted you to do that," he assured her. He stood to grab her a few tissues from the bathroom. "We would have made it work. Fuck if you'd said I yes I probably would have been okay with us still just being engaged today."

She wiped her tears, thinking that she must have looked like a mess. "I almost called you when the campaign trail was over I just didn't think it was fair."

"Well I almost called you every single day between the one where I walked away and today. There were so many moments when the only person whose voice I wanted to hear was yours so I guess that makes us both fools."

"You watch my news stories?" She asked after a moment of silence where she decided that he was still one of the most attractive men she'd ever met let alone dated.

He was wearing charcoal gray dress pants and a black shirt that despite probably being heavily starched was now a little wrinkled. A quick glance around the room confirmed her suspicion that he hadn't been in Boston very long. For a moment she wondered if he was here on business or for pleasure. Knowing the little bit of information that Stephanie felt comfortable enough to share she was pretty sure that it was business.

He bit his lip and nodded almost sheepishly. It was one of those rare Logan Huntzberger looks that people rarely believed actually existed. "I read them too."

She smiled and quickly swiped at her eyes thinking again that she'd been such a damn fool for walking away.

"So we're going to try this?" She asked her tone full of hope.

"Looks like it," he answered. His sheepish grin had quickly been replaced his more common smirk. "Even though you never did tell me what beings friends looked like when it came to the two of us Ace."

- R - & - L -

For three months Rory and Logan managed to make beings friend work. In all actuality there form a friendship was a lot like a relationship except they didn't kiss except for quick pecks on the cheek and they certainly didn't do anything rash like sleep together. No, instead they went to brunch on Sundays and talked politics and the media industry. When they had work engagements, they always attended as the others date though both made a point to introduce each other as their dear friend. The looks they received in exchange always suggested that the person they were introducing the other two, didn't believe that they were just dear friends for a second. Being friends was perfect and it really seemed to work. That is until April when they flew back East for Colin and Stephanie's engagement party.

It had all started okay. They got separate rooms at the same hotel. They sat across from each other instead of right next to one another. They even took time to meet other single people that Stephanie and Colin deemed worthy enough to invite to the party. Everything was pointing in the direction that come Sunday when they caught their flight back to San Francisco, they'd still just be friends. But then they'd been to awake to go to sleep like everyone else, so they stole a bottle of champagne and headed for the beach. And then they got nostalgic.

"Master and Commander once played on television about three months after we broke up. I was in this shitty hotel in Tacoma. The rest of the reporters had gone out for drinks, but I was over that scene. And anyway I just started bawling," she admitted laughing softly. "When the girl I was bunking with showed up I lied and said it was because I just couldn't get over the way Russell Crowe ruined Meg Ryan and Dennis Quaid's marriage."

He snorted softly. "What'd she say to that?"

"She sort of blathered on about having a similar reaction to Mr. and Mrs. Smith because apparently if Jennifer Aniston couldn't find happiness what hope is there for the rest of us."

"She had a point," he mused.

She rolled her eyes and gently shoved him before grabbing the bottle and turning it upwards for another sip.

"For me it was The Twilight Zone." He told her, thinking back to the first time he saw his favorite episode. He hadn't been able to leave the house at all that weekend. If it weren't for an important business meeting at the office that Monday it might have been longer.

"I still have the rocket you gave me."

He gazed at her in surprise. "You do?"

"Of course I do. It's the best gift I've ever received." she said. On her lonely days she would stare it because it was proof that at one point her life she'd found someone. "I could never have parted ways with it. It's made every move with me."

"I don't think I can be friends with you Ace."

Her brows furrowed in confusion. "What? Why not?" She asked, her voice bordering on whining.

He gulped, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down before explaining himself. "I'm still in love with you. This time we've spent together has been great, but I spend the entire time trying not to kiss. I think that we owe it to ourselves should try again."

"You mean that?" Her heart was practically swelling in her chest in joy. She'd been feeling the exact same way, but had been trying to ignore that.

He nodded and then he leaned in and kissed her passionately. They stayed that way until it seemed that they might pass out from lack of oxygen. Finally they pulled apart.

"I've been waiting for that since Christmas," she admitted between gasps for air. "What took you so long?"

Logan smirked for a second and then he kissed her again.

That night when Rory fell asleep in his arms, she realized that she did have a second chance to be Mrs. Huntzberger after all.

- R - & - L -

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: CORNY, I KNOW. HAHA. SO THAT WAS IT. I HOPE YA'LL LIKED IT. THIS STORY HAS MADE ME MISS RORY AND LOGAN MORE THAN I HAVE IN A LONG TIME. I STILL HATE THAT WE WERE LEFT HANGING THE WAY WE WERE. I LOOK FORWARD TO READING THE REVIEWS FOR THIS ONE. I HOPE EVERYONE HAS A MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR! YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST! - KRISTINE. **


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